A Biography of the Life and Times of El Cid in the Eleventh Century Spain | Kibin A Biography of the Life and Times of El Cid in the Eleventh Century Spain Sign Up & Access Essays Already a member? Login here Pages: 2 This preview is partially blurred. Sign up to view the full document. Sign Up & Access Essays Already a member? Login here End of preview Upgrade to view the full document This is an unformatted preview.

Sign up to view the full document End of preview Upgrade to view the full document El Cid was a famous military leader in eleventh century Spain He was originally named Rodrigo Daz de Vivar and was given his nickname El Cid The Lord by the Moors He was born about 1043 at Vivar near Burgos Spain He was the son of a minor Castilian nobleman and grew up in the court of Ferdinand I When Ferdinand I died his older son Sancho II of Castile became king El Cid became famous when he fought with a knight from Aragn for control of the city of Zaragoza In 1072 Sancho II was assassinated by his younger brother Alfonso VI of Leon El Cid continued to serve the new king Alfonso VI However Alfonso VI became jealous of El Cids growing fame among the people and in 1081 the king exiled El Cid from the Castilian kingdom El Cid left the northern or Christian part of Spain and traveled southeast where he served the Moorish king of Zaragoza Prince Motamid and other Muslim rulers His reputation as a knight continued to grow About 1087 he began assembling an army to drive out the Moors and

 gain control of the kingdom of Valencia In 1094 he captured Valencia and ruled until the attack by the highly trained Moorish army of Ben Yousef in 1099 During the battle he was shot with an arrow but the army regrouped in the castle King Alfonso VI arrived with his Castilian army to help El Cid He slowly died from the arrow and they tied him to his horse to lead the fight alongside King Alfonso VI The Moors were defeated and retreated back to northern Africa After El Cids death on July 10 1099 his fame continued to grow and he became a national hero in the fight against Muslim control of Spain The epic poem @Kibin is a lifesaver for my essay right now!!

- Sandra Slivka, student @ UC Berkeley Wow, this is the best essay help I've ever received! - Camvu Pham, student @ U of M If I'd known about @Kibin in college, I would have gotten much more sleep - Jen Soust, alumni @ UCLA El Cid – Institute for the Study of Western Civilization ISBN 0394574478 Review: Rodrigo Diaz, the legendary warrior-knight of eleventh-century Castile known as El Cid, is remembered today as the Christian hero of the Spanish crusade who waged wars of re-conquest for the triumph of the Cross over the Crescent. He is still honored in Spain as a national hero for liberating the fatherland from the occupying Moors. Yet, as Richard Fletcher shows in this award-winning book, there are many contradictions between eleventh-century reality and the mythology that developed with the passing years. By placing El Cid in a fresh, historical context, Fletcher shows us an adventurous soldier of fortune who was of a type, one of a number of "cids," or "bosses," who flourished in eleventh-century Spain.

But the El Cid of legend--the national hero--was unique in stature even in his lifetime. Before his death El Cid was already celebrated in a poem written in tribute of the conquest of Almerï¿½a; posthumously he was immortalized in the great epic Poema de Mio Cid and became the centerpiece for countless other works of literature. When he died in Valencia in 1099, he was ruler of an independent principality he had carved for himself in Eastern Spain. Rather than the zealous Christian leader many believe him to have been, Rodrigo emerges in Fletcher's study as a mercenary equally at home in the feudal kingdoms of northern Spain and the exotic Moorish lands of the south, selling his martial skills to Christian and Muslim alike. Indeed, his very title derives from the Arabic word sayyid meaning "lord" or "master." And as there was little if any sense of Spanish nationhood in the eleventh century, he can hardly be credited for uniting a medieval Spanish nation.

In this ground-breaking inquiry into the life and times of El Cid, Fletcher disentangles fact from myth to create a striking portrait of an extraordinary man, clearly showing how and why legend transformed him into something he was not during his life. A fascinating journey through a turbulent epoch, The Quest for El Cid is filled with the excitement of discovery, and will delight readers interested not only in Spanish history and literature, but those who want to understand how myth can shape our perception of history. PART TWO: A visit to the city of El Cid: Burgos The old capital of Castile "History of Spain" studies the Spanish story from the earliest days of the Iberian peninsula to 1700. During our thirty weeks we will study history, read fiction and poetry, discuss art and artists, and try to connect all these fields to one narrative explaining the formation of modern Spain. All classes begin at 7:00 PM. Spanish Heroes and Legends | Visit-Medieval-Spain.com SPANISH HEROES AND LEGENDS The Legend of El Cid Rodrigo Diaz Vivar (1040 - 1099) - "El Cid Campeador".

The Legend of El Cid has been told in many forms since the 12th century A.D. He is a Spanish national hero, probably the best known outside Spain - Largely due to the 1961 Hollywood movie in which he was played by Charlton Heston. Born near Burgos (the Castillian Capital) he first served as a general under Sancho II up until the king was murdered. Suspicion fell upon his successor King Alfonso VI and according to the legends El Cid made him swear an oath that he had nothing to do with the assassination of his brother. El Cid was later forced into exile and became a mercenary at the head of his own combined Christian / Muslim army and even fought for the Moors before being recalled to fight for a now threatened King Alfonso. It was around this time that his army reconquered Valencia and the surrounding towns in the name of King Alfonso. He then governed the city up until his death in 1099.

The Legend of Guzman "The Good" Alonso Perez de Guzmán (1255 - 1309) Another hero of the Spanish "Reconquista" Alonso Perez de Guzmán was the illegitimate son of a minor Castilian Noble . He left Castile after arguments with his brothers and , like El Cid,became a mercenary fighting for both the Christians and the Moors in Spain and North Africa, where he earned the reputation of being a great warrior. In 1294 King Sancho IV put him in charge of the town of Tarifa , recently recovered from the Moors. Shortly after this the town was besieged by Moorish troops under Ibn Yaqub. The town was totally cut off and awaiting the arrival of Aragonese reinforcements by sea when Guzman's son and heir was taken hostage. The Moorish leader told Guzman that if he didn't surrender the town then he would cut his son's throat.

To which Guzman replied by throwing him his dagger and saying: "I did not beget a son to be made use of against my country, but that he should serve her against her foes" Thus, his son was killed but the town saved and Alonso Perez de Guzman became known as Guzman "The Good". Later, after successfully defending Gibraltar, he became Duke of Medina Sidonaia (near Malaga) and continued fighting against the Moors up until his death in 1309. The legend of Wilfred "The Hairy" Guifre "el Pilós" ( ? - 897) Although the year of his birth is unknown Wilfred "The Hairy" was of Hispanofranco descent and son of Sunifred of Urgel. He became Count of Urgel and Cerdenyá and in 877 was named Count of Barcelona, Besalú and Girona by French King Charles "The Bald" as reward for his services. Wilfred worked to repopulate and link the 5 counties and built fortifications in towns as far South as the River Llobregat. This strengthening of his territories caused the Moors to fortify Lleida.

Wilfred in turn saw this as a direct threat and led a failed attack on the city which in turn provoked the Moors into attacking Barcelona. When Wilfred died in battle defending Barcelona against the Moors in 897 A.D. his titles passed to his son. Legend has it that the Catalan flag has its origins in the coat of arms presented to Wilfred by Charles the Bald as a reward for his bravery after he was injured in battle. According to the legend the King visited Wilfred in his tent where he lay bleeding, wet his fingers with Wilfred's blood and traced four lines across the injured Count's golden shield. Whether or not the legend is true the design was used as the coat of arms of Aragon .Today it forms the basis of the flags of the 4 Autonomous Comunities which made up the Kingdom of Aragon; Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. The Legend of Don Pelayo Don Pelayo ( ? - 737) The exact date and place of Don Pelayo's birth is unclear. According to the legends he was the son of a Visigoth noble who was killed fighting against Witiza in the battles of the Visigoth Clans.

After the death of his father, Pelayo went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before returning to Spain to fight for King Roderick (The last Visigoth King of Spain). Pelayo was member of the Royal Guard up until the battle of Guadalete when Spain was taken by the Moors in 711 A.D. When the Moors conquered Spain, Pelayo and many of the Spanish troops fled north and continued fighting in the mountainous regions of Cantabria and Asturias. Don Pelayo finally fell into the hands of the Moors and was sent to Cordoba as a hostage/envoy. Meanwhile his sister Adosinda was forced to marry Munza the Moorish Governor of Gijon. Supposedly this is what spurred Don Pelayo to escape his captors and return to the mountains near Covadonga to fight in what became the Christian "Reconquista" of Spain which started in 718 and lasted nearly 800 years. Many of the Visigoth/Christian Nobles lived very comfortably under Muslim rule and where reluctant to join Pelayo's troops in their heroic struggle.

The Spanish forces where greatly outnumbered but Pelayo and his knights finally beat Al Quaema's army at the battle of Covadonga in 722 when he became the first King of the Spanish Kingdom of Asturias. King James I "the Conquerer" James I of Aragon (1208 - 1276) James the first of Aragon was another hero of the Spanish "Reconquista". Born in Montpelier in 1208, he ascended to the throne at the age of six when his father, Pedro II "The Catholic", was killed in the battle of Muret. After his father's death the young King was taken hostage until the Pope ordered that he should be returned to his family. He was then taken into the custody of the Knights Templar in their castle at Monzón. There then followed a period of ten years of anarchy and revolt as his Uncle tried unsuccessfully to control the kingdom's nobility. Finally in 1225, at the age of 17, King James I returned to take control of his kingdom.

The Young King spent the first few years of his rule regaining control of the rebellious nobles with fierce battles at Albarracin and Montcada. In 1229, with his kingdom back under control and more powerful than ever, James I set out to regain Mallorca from the Moors. It was this famous victory that earned him the title of "the Conqueror" ("El Conquistador" in Spanish). By the time of his death in 1276 King James's kingdom had expanded to include Aragon, Catalonia, all four of the Balearic Islands and Valencia. Christopher Columbus Born Genoa 1451 - Died Spain 1506 Over the years, historians have speculated over Columbus' nationality. There have been claims that he was: Genoese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Greek and even Polish. However, it is generally agreed that he was born in Liguria in Genoa (now Northern Italy) in 1451. There is also the question as to whether he really discovered the Americas. Firstly there is the fact that the Nordic explorer Leif Ericson is supposed to have landed in Newfoundland early in the eleventh century.

Secondly the minor detail that there were already people living there! To top it all off, Columbus himself claimed that he had discovered a westerly route to the East Indies! He had set out to find a new and faster trade route between Europe and Japan - An idea that he had previously attempted to sell to the Portuguese before finally getting support from the Spanish Catholic Monarchs (Ferdinand and Isabella). These small details aside, Christopher Columbus claimed the Americas for the Spanish Crown when he landed in San Salvador (now in the Bahamas) on the twelfth of October 1492. Upon returning to Spain he was appointed Viceroy and Governor of the Indies and during 3 subsequent voyages discovered more of Central America and Venezuela. Unfortunately for him, he didn't find the Aztec and Inca riches which were to have such a profound effect on the future of Spain. In fact, after his fourth voyage it seems that he fell out of favor in Spain. He was stripped of his titles, spent some time in prison and his once generous patrons finally refused to pay him and his heirs the riches that he had been promised - He had originally been promised ten percent of all revenues from the "new lands" !

The Legend of the Lady of Arintero Juana Garcia de Arintero (Legendary heroine from Medieval Spain) In 1474 at the onset of the Spanish War of Succession, the Catholic Monarchs decreed that every household which included males between 18 and 35 years of age should send one of them as a volunteer to fight against the Portuguese army. In the Leones village of Arintiero Count Don Garcia of Arinterro became very depressed because he was too old to fight and had no sons to take his place. On seeing her father so distressed Juana, the fourth of his 7 daughters, decided to cut her hair and dress as a man in order to fight. So it was that after 2 months of training, dressed in armour and on horseback, Juana Garcia de Arintero set off to fight against the Portuguese. According to the legends, after months of arduous fighting on the frontline Juana de Arintero, using the title of Knight of Oliveros in order to hide her true identity, became renowned as a valiant and heroic knight. In 1475 in the midst of the Battle of Toro, Juana clashed lances with a Portuguese knight.

The impact was such that it ripped open her armour revealing one of her breasts. The other Spanish knights were stunned to find that the heroic warrior fighting along side them was in fact a woman. Once the Portuguese had been defeated, the Lady of Antiero was presented to King Ferdinand II who rewarded Juana by conceding her a series of titles and rights in recognition of her bravery. The details were written in an official document signed by the King which Juana carried with her as she returned to her village. When Queen Isabella heard of this she became very jealous and sent a group of soldiers after the Lady of Arintero with orders to retrieve the document. As she neared her village Juana spent the night in the house of family members in La Candana. She told them of the honours bestowed on the family by the King but at the same time she heard that there was a group of soldiers perusing her. Juana entrusted the document to her cousin who she told to take it to her father and prepared herself to confront the soldiers. Depending on which version of the legend you hear, the heroic Lady of Arintero either died fighting the Queen's soldiers or survived to marry an Asturian Lord.

Forging a Unique Spanish Christian Identity Forging a Unique Spanish Christian Identity: Santiago and El Cid in the Reconquista by Laura Elizabeth Gibbs St. James the Moorslayer, one of the most valiant saints and knights the world ever had has been given by God to Spain for its patron and protection.  Cervantes, Don Quixote < 1 > This is the will of God and of all His saints. You see the sword bloody and the horse sweating: Thus it is that one [El Cid] conquers the Moors in the field.  Poema de m�o Cid < 2 > In 711, Muslim armies from North Africa crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and entered the southern region of Spain. During the next seven years, the Muslims conquered the weak kingdom of the Visigoths and firmly established themselves on the Iberian peninsula. They called their territory al-Andalus or "Vandal land". Christian resistance to Muslim advances began almost immediately.

However, the notion of a Christian holy war designed to exterminate or at least to expel the Muslims, and not simply to reconquer Spanish Christian territories, did not set in until the eleventh century during the reign of Alfonso VI (1085-1109). In this era of crusading reconquest, a need arose for the living presence of religious-national figures, capable of rallying around themselves the Spanish Christian forces. < 3 > Two figures emerged as emblems of Christian strength and supremacy: El Cid and Santiago. They fulfilled the needs of the Iberian Christians for heroes to emulate, and united them in their struggle for political and religious independence from Muslim rule. As Christian paragons, Santiago and El Cid became increasingly identified with one another. Christians attributed identical symbols to them, and their images merged to the point of indistinguishability in the artistic depictions of these historical individuals in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The unification of the spiritual and the secular, symbolized by the convergence of these figures images, marked the birth of the formation of a united Spanish Christian kingdom, and the creation of a unique national-religious identity in Spain.

Under the leadership of Alfonso VI a decisive program of crusading reconquest began. The monarchs objective entailed uniting all of Spain under one crown and one religion. Tolerance and coexistence with the Muslims were no longer options if Alfonso sought to create a truly unified Spanish Christian kingdom. Thus, Santiago and El Cid grew to immense national and religious proportions because both fulfilled an historical need. Santiago represented the spiritual component of Alfonsos agenda. The Leonese monarch called upon Spaniards to fight against the Muslims and establish the supremacy of the Catholic church. To ensure the success of the reconquest, Spaniards believed God sent his vassal Santiago to lead them in battle and help them realize their goal. El Cid represented the secular element of the Christian reconquista. As Alfonsos vassal, El Cid united the Spaniards in their struggle to oust the infidels and reclaim the peninsula for the Spanish Christian monarch Alfonso and his peoples. The Christian reconquest created faith in Santiago and El Cid as leaders who inspired resistance to the Muslims, and promised ultimate victory over Islam.

Despite the similarities these figures acquired in their roles as Spanish crusaders, their origins could not be more diverse. Santiago or St. James was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman in Galilee, and Salome, the sister of the Virgin Mary. He and his brother John the Evangelist were devout disciples of Christ, and such zealous preachers of the good news that Christ named them Boanerges, "the brothers of thunder." In 44 A.D. Santiago became the first of the Twelve Apostles to suffer martyrdom when Herod Agrippa I arrested and beheaded him in Jerusalem. Tradition places Santiago in Spain proselytizing prior to his execution. Why then would his body be buried in Spain if he died in Jerusalem? According to legend, Santiagos disciples Athanasius and Theodore took his body back to Spain when a ship miraculously appeared, guided by an angel, to transport them. They buried the saint in the area known today as Compostela, "field of stars," where Santiago lay forgotten for nearly eight centuries.

The rediscovery of the saints long-forgotten tomb in the ninth century occurred, tellingly enough, in a time of need "when Christian political fortunes in Spain were at there lowest ebb." < 4 > Christians suffered defeat time and again at the hands of the Muslims, until God unearthed the saints remains, and inspired them with the confidence that God was on their side, fighting in the battlefield with them through the figure of Santiago. "God gave us aid and we won the battle." < 5 > Christians endorsed the veracity of this claim by referring to the battle of Clavijo in 844. The night before the battle, Santiago appeared in a dream to the leader of the Spanish forces, King Ramirez of Castile, and promised him a victory over the Muslims in the fields of Clavijo. < 6 > The following day, as Christians fought the Muslims, the warrior-saint appeared on the battlefield in full armor riding on a white charger, with a sword in one hand and a banner in the other. Together with Santiago Matamoros, the Moorslayer, the Christians slaughtered the Muslim invaders and won a decisive victory.

Undoubtedly, Santiago appeared in the battlefield at Clavijo for he left behind impressions of scallop shells (his symbol as the pilgrim saint) on the rocks in the field and even on the stones of neighboring houses. After this battle, Santiagos name became the Christians battle cry, and his appearance in warfare the symbol of Christian victory. According to legend, the saint aided the Spaniards at least forty times in earthly warfare, including the battle of Clavijo. This was a "brave assertion of faith in St. James, in the miracle at Clavijo, and in the patron saints heavenly care for Spain." < 7 > The Spaniards "needed Santiago as the supernatural ally who would sustain their courage and bring certain success to their arms." < 8 > This strong faith identified Santiago with the religious element of the reconquest and the revival of Spanish fortunes. It follows then, that at the end of the eleventh century when a decisively religious element entered the equation of the reconquista, an aggressive program of dignifying the apostolate of James and of exalting Compostela as the "second Rome" took place.

< 9 > The image of Compostela as a "second Rome" points to the sites religious significance, and established its importance as a preeminent place of pilgrimage. < 10 > The successful ouster of the Muslims in 1492 was followed by skepticism regarding Santiagos role in Spains holy war. Skeptics accepted Santiago as the patron saint of Spain, and even the possibility that he inspired Christians in warfare. But they flatly rejected the validity of the battle of Clavijo and the absurd notion of Santiago taking personal part in the conflict by slaughtering Muslims. In the eighteenth century, Pope Benedict XIV rebuffed the unbelievers, and stated that Santiagos Spanish mission was an historical fact and that there was no further doubt or debate on this subject in Rome. Speaking for all of Christendom, Pope Benedict declared Santiagos participation and leadership as an essential and factual element of Spains Christian warfare against the Muslims  case closed. < 11 > The Popes declaration reaffirmed the tie between Spanish nationalism and Christianity established by Alfonso in the late eleventh century.

Santiagos and El Cids fearless and victorious participation in the crusading reconquest acquired grandiose and mythical dimensions. Both became national-religious heroes during the reconquista, but El Cid was neither a disciple of Christ nor a saint. Nevertheless, in the minds of his followers he was the perfect secular counterpart to the ecclesiastical figure of Santiago. He was born in 1043 to a family of noble origins in the town of Vivar, and named Rodrigo D�az. He acquired the Arabic honorific title sid meaning "lord," as well as the epithet Campeador, meaning "champion." While it is difficult to disentangle history from myth, there is little evidence to suggest that either of these were used by contemporaries as official titles when addressing El Cid. < 12 > It is probable that after his death in Valencia in 1099 the heroic exploits of El Cid were preserved, and magnified, in Spanish oral tradition. By the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, Rodrigo was no longer simply a gifted knight--he was the ever-victorious warrior lord, the Campeador El Cid.

The first documented use of the title "sid" appears in the epic Poema de m�o Cid or Cantar de m�o Cid. In this poem, composed in the Spanish vernacular in the early thirteenth century, "the hero is presented as a paragon, one whose lack of any self-destructive defect -- like the wrath of Achilles or the pride of Roland -- makes him the most perfect of all epic protagonists and the most successful." < 13 > El Cid represented the ideal Christian warrior, invincible in battle and flawless in character. The extraordinary image of El Cid developed in this epic prevailed over the less fantastic, but more realistic, image of the religiously indifferent, intelligent, successful medieval military strategist and warrior. Nevertheless, the legendary aspects of his character prevailed, serving as standards which Christians could follow on their path toward victory. This poem creates a window to the past into medieval Spain of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. It describes the hero in all his grandeur, and provides the context in which El Cid assumes his importance as the Campeador -- the unconquerable Christian warrior.

In the legendary words of El Cid, "Thanks be to God Who is lord of the world/ I win battles, as pleases the Creator;/ Moors go in fear of me." < 14 > In 1072, El Cid became the vassal of Alfonso VI. To further secure his loyalty, in 1074 Alfonso arranged for El Cid to marry his niece Jimena D�az. These were calculated efforts by Spains monarch to secure El Cids support for the national-religious warfare against the Muslims. Alfonso made careful attempts to thwart "any significant opportunity [on the part of El Cid] to exercise his military talents" without the kings knowledge. < 15 > The king appears to have had a specific political-religious agenda, in which El Cid played an integral role.

During his reign, Alfonso "continued and extended the policy of alliance with the great French Benedictine monastery of Cluny, then achieving European prominence under Abbot Hugh the Great (1049-1109)." < 16 > By cooperating with the church and instituting Cluniac reform, Alfonso played a preeminent role in the Christianization of the reconquest. < 17 > His effort to create a unified Christian kingdom of Spain in the eleventh century sparked the need for religious and national figures under whom Christians could unite to defeat the infidel, satiated by the personages of El Cid and Santiago. People in Spain "were coming to believe that relations between Christians and Muslims were necessarily and justly hostile, that Christian warfare against Islam bestowed positive spiritual merit on the participant, and that the Muslims should be driven out of Spain." < 18 > In accordance with his monarchs wishes, El Cid participated in the unification of the religious and political spheres during the latter part of the eleventh century.

One of the most important roles he played as a Christian war hero and patriot of the reconquest was the victory of his siege in Valencia and the Muslims defeat (1093-1094). < 19 > This triumph of Christianity was celebrated over a century later in the epic: "Great is the rejoicing in that place/ when My Cid took Valencia . . ./ My Cid rejoiced, and all who were with him,/ when his flag flew from the top of the Moorish palace." < 20 > In his role as a loyal Christian ruler El Cid converted Valencias Great Mosque into a Christian church, St. Marys Cathedral, in 1098. Furthermore, he proclaimed the Cluniac cleric Jerome of P�rigord the bishop of Valencia. These acts indicated his solidarity with Alfonso and Cluniac reform, and his participation in the crusading mentality of the century. An important manifestation of the crusading mentality during this time was the creation of an iconography of Santiago along national lines, using imagery rooted in the historical reality of the reconquest.

As in the legend surrounding the battle of Clavijo, this iconography associated Santiago with the warfare against Islam; in it Santiago is represented on a galloping [white] horse . . . sword in the right hand and the banner of victory in the left. Behind him the defeated infidels, crushed to the ground, helplessly moan; in front of him the powerless enemy surrenders . . . . Appropriately enough for the historical reality and the temper of the times, such an iconography of Santiago has received the designation of Matamoros . . . the slayer of the Moors. < 21 > Through this iconography Santiago practically becomes El Cid: a folkloric figure riding upon a horse, leading the Christians to victory. The similarities in the depictions of these national religious heroes revolve around the use of four primary symbols: the sword, the banner of victory, the white horse, and the Muslims who lay dead at the feet of the victorious crusader. The banner of victory, like the horse, is usually white. This color symbolizes the spiritual purity of the Christians who will spill the red blood of the Muslim infidels.

The most important of these symbols is the instrument of death, the sword, generally attributed to gods, heroes of unconquerable might, and Christian martyrs. It signifies military might, power, authority, and justice. < 22 > The Poema de m�o Cid heavily emphasized the power of the sword, victoriously wielded by El Cid over the Muslims. For example, the epic describes the Almoravid leader Yusufs defeat at the hands of El Cid thus: As pleased the Creator, they [the Christians] overcame them [the Muslims]. My Cid used his lance and then drew his sword; he killed so many Moors that the count was lost; above his elbow the blood ran. My Cid was joyful, and all his vassals, because God of His grace had given them triumph. Thus he rode on Babieca, his sword in his hand. < 23 > Using three of the four symbols, this excerpt indicates the Spaniards confidence that God empowered their national-religious heroes who ultimately led the Christians to victory.

Once drawn, the sword of Santiago or El Cid, through the grace of God, became the tool by which Spain successfully expelled the Muslims, and completed its spiritual and secular union. The development of a religiously and culturally homogenous Spanish kingdom, and the association of the images of Santiago and El Cid as paradigm Christian combatants continued throughout the remaining four centuries of religious reconquest. For Santiago, the process of intertwining his role as belligerent saint with crusading warfare culminated in 1170. In this year, the most famous Spanish military order, the Order of the Knights of Santiago, emerged, modeled upon the international order of the Knights of the Temple. < 24 > The Knights of Santiago was only one of several military-religious orders established to protect pilgrims on their journey to Compostela (the saints burial place), and most importantly, to fight against the Muslims. Like Santiago Matamoros, the knights "combined priestly devotion with soldierly blood-thirstiness.

Their motto was Rubet ensis sanguine Arabum  My sword is red with the blood of the Arabs  and their symbol was a sword-like cross with the scallop shell on the crosspiece." < 25 > El Cids image as Christian and soldier evolved in a less militaristic and institutionalized manner. After his death in 1099, a "Cid-cult" grew up around his burial site in the monastery of San Pedro de Carde�a. In fact, many of the myths invented about El Cid and incorporated into history originated in Carde�a. The growth of the legend of El Cid occurred during a time when Christians were winning victories over Muslim forces in the East. The impact of the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 may have been felt in Spain, leading, for example, to a renewed interest in the paragon of Christian crusaders. By 1200, El Cid "had grown to uncommon heroic stature" outstripping even Spanish royalty as the subject of legendary interest. < 26 > This interest manifested itself in the composition of the epic Poema de m�o Cid.

In this poem, El Cid assumes Santiagos role of Moorslayer and instills a combination of fear and admiration in both Christians and Muslims alike. His mission aimed at the complete reconquest of Muslim-Spain for Christianity; he would be satisfied with nothing less. As the Muslim Abengalb�n laments in the epic, "In peace or in war he will have what is ours;/ who does not know the truth I hold stupid." < 27 > The histories of Santiago and El Cid contain an inextricable mixture of historical fact and mythical legend. The legendary component fueled Spaniards faith in their ultimate victory over the Muslims. It gave them confidence when faced with an uncertain future. Thus, the mythical forces gave credence and urgency to the reality of divine intervention in Spains crusading reconquest. This intervention manifested itself in the forms of Santiago and El Cid  figures whose images over time intimately intertwined and became one. The resulting image was of a knight of uncommon heroic stature riding upon a white horse over a battlefield of slain Muslims, with a bloodied sword in one hand and the banner of victory waving in the other.

Spaniards believed God had brought Santiago from heaven to the battlefield and made El Cid invincible in war. Inspired by their heroes and inflamed by their passion for a united Spain under Christendom, Spanish Christians continued undeterred in their struggle against the infidel. Their struggles did not go unrewarded. When Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade in 1095, Spain had already experienced two significant victories against their Muslim opponents by retaking Toledo (1086) and Valencia (1094). The eleventh through the fourteenth centuries saw the gradual deterioration of Muslim power in Spain. By the twelfth century, the political-religious geography of the Iberian peninsula had changed radically from the tenth and eleventh centuries. In the fifteenth century Muslim rule in al-Andalus collapsed. The Muslim defeat in Spain was paralleled by an increase in the strength and power of the Christians. Guided by their religious national figures, Spaniards had succeeded in ousting the Muslims when they captured the city of Granada in 1492.

The capture of Granada ended the chapter of Christian reconquest in Spains history, and ended Santiagos and El Cids roles as inspirational leaders and invincible warriors in the eight centuries long reconquista. Spain succeeded in expelling the Muslim peoples and their religion, while simultaneously forging a new national Christian identity. The Iberian peninsula emerged from the Christian reconquest  as Alfonso VI intended it to be  unified under the Spanish monarchy of Isabela and Ferdinand and by its Christian faith. Notes 1 Quoted in Ellen O. Feinberg, Following the Milky Way: A Pilgrimage Across Spain (Ames, Iowa, 1989) 82. 2 Poema de m�o Cid, Canto 95, trans. W. S. Merwin, Medieval Epics (New York, 1959) 528. 3 William Melczer, The Pilgrims Guide to Santiago de Compostela (New York, 1993) 15. 4 Melczer, 15. 5 Poema de m�o Cid, Canto 43, 497.

6 Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, ed. James Hall (New York, 1974) 166. 7 T. D. Kendrick, St. James in Spain (London, 1960) 148. 8 Kendrick, 185. 9 Melczer, 21. 10 Santiago de Compostela continues to draw people from around the world to Spain to embark on a pilgrimage and visit the burial site of this countrys patron saint. 11 Kendrick, 185. 12 Richard Fletcher, The Quest for El Cid (Oxford, 1989) 3-4. 13 Edmund De Chasca, History and Legend of The Cid, The Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Vol. 3, ed. Joseph R. Strayer (New York, 1982-89) 387. 14 Poema de m�o Cid, Canto 122, 553. 15 De Chasca, 384. 16 Bernard Reilly, The Medieval Spains (Cambridge, 1993) 93.

17 Pope Urban II (1088-99), a Cluniac, preached the First Crusade in 1095, one year after El Cids victory over the Muslim taifa state of Valencia. It is possible that the Spanish reconquista inspired Urban to appeal for the defense of Christendom against the infidel Muslims in the East, using El Cid as the prototype of the Christian crusader. 18 Fletcher, The Quest for El Cid, 50. 19 Aside from being a significant tactical victory, Valencia paralleled Santiagos legendary participation and triumph at Clavijo in importance as a propaganda tool; both battles boosted Spanish Christian soldiers morale and confidence in their ability -- with Gods help -- to rid the Iberian peninsula of Muslims. 20 Poema de m�o Cid, Canto 74, 512. 21 Melczer, 65-6. 22 Illustrated Dictionary of Symbols in Eastern and Western Art, ed. James Hall, illus. Chris Puleston (New York, 1994) 87-88.

23 Poema de m�o Cid, Canto 95, 528. 24 Richard Fletcher, Reconquest and Crusade in Spain c. 1050-1150, Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, Fifth Series 37 (1986) 45. 25 Feinberg, 182-83. 26 Colin Smith, The Making of the Poema de m�o Cid (Cambridge, 1983) 55. 27 Poema de m�o Cid, Canto 83, 521.

Question: In which century did El Cid fight against the Moors in Spain?
Answer: Eleventh